According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents all major music labels, about 30,000 pirated CDs, 10,000 DVDs and the equivalent of 421 CD burners were seized following the Monday morning raid in an industrial complex.
Other equipment and raw materials were also confiscated. Three individuals were apparently arrested and now face charges of trafficking in counterfeit labels, criminal copyright infringement and trade mark counterfeiting.
The RIAA claims that the alleged piracy ring was the largest supplier of pirated music to individual vendors, retail locations and distribution centres on Canal Street in Manhattan, operating around the clock with an estimated capacity of at least six million pirated discs each year.
The RIAA, which estimates that the alleged piracy ring had the potential to cost the industry up to $90 million annually, said that it expects the operation "to pay further dividends", since it "successfully struck at one of the major choke points for music piracy in the New York City area."
The music industry has repeatedly blamed CD-burning and on-line file sharing for the sharp decline in music sales, which have dropped 15% in the past two years. Recent research, on the other hand, claims that piracy is not responsible for the drop in music sales and suggests that labels can restore industry growth by enabling consumers to find, copy and pay for music on their own terms.